Souhan: Was 2022 Vikings season a fluke or Year 1 of a prolific era?

What we'll learn during the 2023 Minnesota Vikings season is whether the clutch gene is hereditary.

Will this team inherit its predecessor's poise? Will this team produce under the pressure of raised expectations?

In 2022, a rookie coach, a veteran quarterback and a rising superstar receiver helped the Vikings win 13 games, a stunning debut for Kevin O'Connell and a departure for Kirk Cousins, who never before had been accused of elevating a team in tight situations.

They won 11 one-score games and produced eight comeback victories, including an NFL-record performance against Indianapolis when they were down 33-0 at halftime.

As the 2023 season begins Sunday against Tampa Bay, the question facing the franchise is this:

Was last season a mirror or a mirage?

Even if the Vikings had won in a more dominating fashion in 2022, they would face questions about sustainability.

Since the Vikings left Met Stadium, they have won 12 or more games in a season three times.

In 1998, they finished 15-1. In 1999, they finished 10-6.

In 2009, they finished 12-4. In 2010, they finished 6-10.

In 2017, they finished 13-3. In 2018, they finished 8-7-1.

Each of those teams faced different circumstances.

The '98 team relied on Randall Cunningham, who was benched in 1999. The '98 team also believed it should have advanced to and won the franchise's first Super Bowl, so the emotional hangover from the NFC championship game loss to Atlanta was palpable.

The '09 team was remarkably talented and needed only a top quarterback to contend for a title, and Brett Favre came out of retirement to produce perhaps the most efficient and impressive season of his career. Favre made it clear when the team again dragged him out of retirement for the 2010 season that he didn't expect similar results. He wasn't kidding, as the 2010 season got coach Brad Childress fired and ushered in a complete rebuild.

The 2017 team relied on a powerhouse defense and the clutch play of backup quarterback Case Keenum. Like the 2022 Vikings, the 2017 team excelled at situational football and winning close games. The difference was that Keenum was not viewed as a long-term starter, and the offense lacked established talent.

The 2023 Vikings are different from those teams because they have their franchise quarterback in place and in his prime, and they did not lose any key players they wanted to keep.

They are different because those three predecessors represented the apex of slowly built programs. Denny Green, Childress and Mike Zimmer knew that those teams represented their best chance to win the franchise's first Super Bowl, and each loss in the NFC title game was devastating to all involved.

The current Vikings should be ascending, even if they don't again reach 13 victories. This regime is coming off its first full offseason and seems to have fared better in the draft in 2023 than it did in 2022. Last year's trade for tight end T.J. Hockenson (and his recent signing to a lucrative deal) and the drafting of Jordan Addison give the Vikings a deep set of receivers for a pass-first offense.

For the first time since 2016, Cousins will enter a second season with the same head coach and offensive coordinator. Justin Jefferson has established himself as the NFL's best receiver.

Ed Donatell's failures as the Vikings defensive coordinator led to a dismal statistical performance redeemed only by a number of clutch plays. He has been replaced by renowned tactician Brian Flores, who will work with a younger and faster group of players.

Which brings us back to Vikings history.

For a few years in the '90s, the Vikings relied on a "Denny and Dungy'' philosophy. Green wanted to build a prolific passing offense, and he relied on defensive coordinator Tony Dungy to patch together a defense with John Randle and spare parts.

This year's team will rely on a "KO and Flo'' philosophy. O'Connell's priority is building a top passing offense, and he hired Flores to improve a terrible defense that added zero stars via the draft or free agency.

Was the Vikings' 2022 performance a mirror or a mirage?

The 2023 Vikings will try to prove that all of those close victories were a promise, not a fluke.